Ben Jones, a 2004-2006 Wisconsin Population Health Service Fellow, who is now the Waukesha County Public Health Officer

Ben was a Wisconsin
Population Health Service Fellow from 2004 to 2006, with a placement at the
City of Milwaukee Health Department. He received Bachelor of Science degrees in
biochemistry and Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000, and a
Master of Public Health from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in
2004, with a concentration in epidemiology and biostatistics.

Of his experience at
the City of Milwaukee Health Department, Ben emphasized the unique
opportunities provided to Fellows: “Coming in as a Fellow, they understood that
it’s a post-masters, and that you have a lot of education already, and that
it’s supposed to be a learning experience. They afforded me opportunities I
would not have otherwise had. I was allowed to pick projects that interested me
and that benefited the department.” Ben also appreciated the flexibility
afforded to Fellows—during his Fellowship, he was able to take a public health
course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison while still working at the City
of Milwaukee Health Department—and the ability to bounce ideas off a mentor and
other Fellows.

Upon completing the
Fellowship in 2006, Ben stayed with the City of Milwaukee Health Department for
another year, as the Health Information Specialist in the communicable disease
section. In fall of 2007, he accepted an epidemiologist position at the Public
Health Division of Waukesha County’s Department of Health and Human Services,
an opportunity that allowed Ben to continue working in epidemiology and gain
supervisory experience. In June 2013, Ben was named interim health officer of
Waukesha County, and in August 2013 he was officially named health officer.

In his time with
Waukesha County, Ben has had the opportunity to gain experience in public
health emergency preparedness and response, including response to H1N1 in 2009,
as well as outbreaks of hepatitis A, measles, and meningococcal disease. This
work has reinforced the importance of working with community partners outside
the traditional realm of public health, including police and fire departments,
medical examiners, and hospital systems. Ben thinks public health has an
important role to play in bringing diverse partners together in these
situations: “I think we can utilize public health to open the doors and bring
people to the table who maybe historically weren’t at the same table.”

In terms of personal
updates, Ben enjoys golfing and trying to keep up with his 3 year old son. His advice for current
or prospective Fellows?: “Put yourself out there and try new things. Volunteer to take on new tasks, even if it
scares you a little.You never know what
doors are going to open.”